A Five Star MJ at The National Pulls Out All the Stops in a Thriller of a Musical
MJ Broadway at the National Jordan Wright August 16, 2024
Special to The Zebra
Roman Banks as ‘MJ’ and the cast of the MJ First National Tour (Photo/Matthew Murphy, MurphyMade)
Here’s the lede. Without a doubt this national tour is one of the most spectacular and electrifying musicals this reviewer has ever seen. It’s a ten for dance, cast, production values, musical numbers, orchestration and costumes… and here’s why.
The story of Michael Jackson’s extraordinary career and its influence on all subsequent pop music cannot be understated. From his start as a child singing lead with his brothers as the Jackson Five to his supersonic career trajectory, his passion to create new and exciting music has been rock solid. Above all, he considered himself an artist keeping a firm hand on all production decisions as well as composing most of his biggest hits. He worked with Berry Gordy early on then segued to a recording relationship with Quincy Jones, both of whom told him he would be nothing without them. He proved them wrong at every turn as his star continued to ascend. It was the height of the Motown years and there were appearances on Soul Train and Amateur Night at the famed Apollo Theatre in Harlem that brought the house down. All these career-making moments are played out here through his biggest hits with over a half dozen of the best dancers. Forty!!! of his greatest hits expressed in this musical both in song and dance highlight his massive career.
The story does not gloss over the fraught relationship he had with his brutal father who controlled his boys with threats accompanied by physical abuse or his mother who tried in vain to protect him. It tells of the brothers he drew back into his orbit at the height of his success and his relentless fight for perfectionism. “I like to process my ideas through my body,” he reveals.
Roman Banks as ‘MJ’ and the cast of the MJ First National Tour (Photo/Matthew Murphy, MurphyMade)
Jackson studied the greatest dancers – Bob Fosse and Fred Astaire and the Black duo, The Nicholas Brothers – all evident in his signature moves. The choreography features breathtaking gymnastics, ballet influences and the crispest mime movements. I read years ago that Jackson’s shoes were made by Astaire’s shoemaker. If the shoe fits…
Who can forget his version of “The Robot” that became a huge craze? As a boy he learned the moves from his friend and neighbor, Robert Shields, the legendary White dancer, comedian and Vegas headliner known as the “Mechanical Man”. It became a viral sensation when Jackson introduced the Pop & Lock with “Dancing Machine”. He learned what was then known as the “Backslide” from Black singer/dancer Jeffrey Daniel. When Jackson introduced it, it became known as the “Moonwalk”, and you know the sensation that caused.
The technical aspects of this production are mind-blowing with explosive, head-spinning technical wizardry and video projections that are used to establish the arc of his supersonic rise to fame. The number “Thriller”, replete with frightening creatures, is reflective of his relationship with his “monster” of a father.
Along with the stresses of Jackson’s epic show biz career, worldwide concert tours and eight Grammy wins came injuries, pills and anxiety. None of the highs or lows of his life are left out in this story backgrounded by a female director and her cameraman who are there to make a documentary on him.
Roman Banks as ‘MJ’ and the cast (Photo/Matthew Murphy, MurphyMade)
Starring Jamaal Fields-Green or alternate Jordan Markus as MJ; with Devin Bowles playing Rob and Joe Jackson; Cecilia Petrush as Rachel; Brandon Lee Harris as Michael; Josiah Benson/Bane Griffith as Little Michael; Bryce A. Holmes as Little Michael; Ramone Nelson as Tito Jackson and Quincy Jones (August 13th – August 25th) Josh A. Dawson (August 26th September 8th); Anastasia Talley as Kate and Katherine Jackson; Anthony J. Garcia as Alejandro; J. Daughtry as Nick, Berry Gordy, Don Cornelius, Doctor; Jed Resnick as Dave; Jōvan Dansberry as Tour Dancer, Randy Jackson, Jackie Wilson; Jay McKenzie as Tour Singer, Jackie Jackson, James Brown; Kellie Drobnick as Tour Dancer, Soul Train Dancer; Amber Jackson as Tour Dancer, Suzanne de Passe, Isley Brother; Zuri Noelle Ford as Tour Dancer, Isley Brother, Nicholas Brother; Matteo Marretta as Tour Dancer, Fred Astaire; Croix Diienno as Tour Dancer. Bob Fosse, Newscaster; Jacobi Kai as Keith, Jermaine Jackson, Isley Brother; Brion Marquis Watson as Tour Dancer, Marlon Jackson, James Brown, Nicholas Brother.
Directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, Book by Lynn Nottage, Scenic Design by Derek McLane, Music Supervision, Orchestrations & Arrangements by David Holcenberg, Orchestrations & Arrangements by Jason Michael Webb, Lighting Design by Natasha Katz, Costume Design by Paul Tazewell, Sound Design by Gareth Owen, Projection Design by Peter Nigrini, Wig & Hair Design by Charles G. LaPointe and Make-up Design by Joe Dulude II.
Five stars! Don’t miss it!
Through September 8th at the National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. For tickets and information call the box office at 800-513-7540 or visit www.TheNationalDC.com.
Kennedy Center’s “Nine” the Musical Brings Broadway Stars Center Stage
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Jordan Wright August 6, 2024
In the 1960’s Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini burst upon the scene with his fantastical Italian movies and the fashion and film world went wild. Suddenly everyone wanted to go to Italy, eat pasta like Sophia Loren, wear Gucci designs, ride a Vespa and be as cool as Marcello Mastroianni. Heady days indeed. Nine the musical is based on Fellini’s iconic 1963 film 8 ½ that drew on his psychological and artistic struggles to repeat his early successes.
Steven Pasquale (Photo/Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
The story turns on Guido Contini (Steven Pasquale), a successful filmmaker and serial womanizer who has promised his producer, Liliane La Fleur, former owner of the Folies Bergères, another successful movie. Liliane (played by Broadway legend Carolee Carmello) wants a musical. The trouble is Guido, who harbors a messiah complex, hasn’t got a fresh idea for a script and is bereft of inspiration. In despair, Guido takes his adoring wife, Luisa (Elizabeth Stanley another of Broadway’s greatest stars) to the deluxe Fontana di Luna spa only to be hunted down by his mistress, Carla (Michelle Ventimilla). As his tortured childhood memories surface, he recalls his earliest introduction to the seductress, the lusty Sarraghina (Leslie Margherita from Broadway’s Zorro the Musical and Matilda the Musical)), whom he encountered on a beach near his parochial school. The adorable Charlie Firlik plays Little Guido as a boy. These flashbacks feature Guido’s Mother (film and stage star Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), his cinematic muse, Claudia Nardi (Shereen Ahmed) and other characters who peppered his life. The show’s title, Nine, comes from Little Guido’s ninth birthday.
Lesli Margherita and Company in Be Italian (Photo/Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
Bringing it to the stage is another matter entirely. Having the seen the film version, which is better able to portray the paparazzi mania Fellini lived under (echoes of the hounding of Princess Diana) as well as the juggling act he maintained keeping his paramours secret from his long-suffering wife, I had a hard time trying to make the stage version as visceral as the film.
Steven Pasquale and Lesli Margherita (Photo/Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
Bearing in mind this particular production is a visually condensed version of the Broadway musical, didn’t help matters either. Only recently did Kennedy Center give us the lavish Moulin Rouge in all its visceral Broadway splendor, and I suppose I expected the same lavish costumes as in the Moulin Rouge scene from the movie version of Nine, however, apart from two feathered and sequined dancers and Liliane in a red sequined gown, there’s none of that. The choreography in this iteration is delegated to the female ensemble clad in sexy black costumes. Oddly, Costume Designer Alejo Vietti allows for no costume changes for them. Choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler who also directs, grants them dance routines that find them surrounding the other characters in a constant swirling motion. If you’re satisfied with a storyline sung by a host of divas and one handsome divo, played by Steven Pasquale as the tortured Guido you’ll be well entertained. The score alone is electrifying.
Elizabeth Stanley and Steven Pasquale (Photo/Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
Respectfully, this is not a full-on staged production with changing sets and fabulous costumes. I get that. It does have all 23 numbers backed by the brilliant Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. And though I’ve enjoyed and raved about many earlier “Broadway at the Kennedy Center” iterations, this one had me wanting to see the original Broadway stage version.
Charlie Firlik and Steven Pasquale (Photo/Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
With Sasha Hutchings as Asa Nisi Masa, Haley Fish as Diana, Georgina Pazcoguin as Annabella, Jenn Sese as Stephanie Necrophorus, Allison Blackwell as Mama Madellena, Paloma Garcia-Lee as Maria, Marina Pires as Sister Vicenza, Lucia Giannetta as Giorgia, Yani Marin as Camilla, Morgan Marcell as Norma, Kamille Upshaw as Leonor, and Dylis Croman as Dr. Ernst.
Through August 11th at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F Street, Washington, DC 20566. For tickets and information call the box office at 2o2 467-4600 or visit www.Kennedy-Center.org.
Monumental Theatre’s Brilliant Production of American Psycho, the Musical, Taps Into the Twisted Mind of a Serial Killer
American Psycho Monumental Theatre Jordan Wright July 12, 2024
Kyle Dalsimer and the Cast of American Psycho (Photo/Christopher Mueller)
Set in the financial center of New York City during the high-flying, coke-fueled 1980’s when young bucks ruled Wall Street, American Psycho personifies that high-flying era of über excess and inglorious greed within a corporate coliseum. Monumental Theatre turns this story into an immersive and highly sensory experience, seating the audience within mere feet of the action. For those familiar with the stage or film version, this is a far more intense experience. I had my doubts before going, but I can say it is one of the most memorably visceral productions I’ve ever seen.
L-R Kyle Dalsimer, RJ Pavel, Jeremy Crawford, Stephen Russell Murray, and Carson Young (Photo/ Christopher Mueller)
There is an immediacy of place as soon as you enter. The walls are covered with pleated plastic sheeting as in a crime scene and there is a bar serving cocktails. Red banquettes with small tables are positioned closest to the stage. (When you go online to purchase tickets, you can decide if you want to be close or in the risers.) A stunning and quite stylish DJ, Marika Countouris, overlooks the scene from a raised booth. She plays keyboard and grooves to the beat and handles the techno club music.
Kyle Dalsimer (Photo/Christopher Mueller)
Fair warning: There is blood and lots of it. The anti-hero, 26-year-old Patrick Bateman, is a serial killer extraordinaire – an obsessive-compulsive, label-obsessed (“You Are What You Wear”) freak and narcissist. He manifests as a sociopath with a grand plan for ridding the world of his competition, or in fact, anyone he disapproves of. Patrick has mommy issues, worships Donald Trump and has a fabulously wealthy girlfriend, Evelyn (Jordyn Taylor), who ignores his murderous rants and uses him as arm candy on her Hamptons’ weekend jaunts. This is a man who dreams of slaughter when his friends dream of mistletoe. As for his friends and co-workers, they’re far too busy clawing their way to the top to take him seriously. Only his secretary, Jean, whom he abuses daily, sticks with him. This is straight up crime drama set to music. It is both emotional and cerebral, and you can’t look away for a millisecond.
The Cast of American Psycho (Photo/Christopher Mueller)
As Patrick’s depersonalization of his world and his insatiable appetite for bloodlust increase, his ability to conjure new ways to murder becomes front of mind. Kyle Dalsimer is sensational in his portrayal of the frenzied serial killer. His performance is award-winning and riveting times a thousand. He is so utterly believable in the role I’d hate to be his real-life neighbor. The entire ensemble is tight. Their voices are like a fine choir so seamlessly do they blend in the ballads as well as the pop-rock numbers. Brilliantly directed by Michael Windsor, this production is a tour de force for this small but mighty theater company who have garnered 28 Helen Hayes Award nominations with two wins in their short nine years of operation.
Highly recommended, but not for the faint of heart!
Kyle Dalsimer and Sarah Stewart (Photo/Christopher Mueller)
With Noah Mutterperl as Paul et al, Jeremy Allen Crawford as Luis/et al, Carson Young as Van Patten/et al, Stephen Russell Murray as McDermott/et al, Kaeli Patchen as Jean, Sarah Stewart as Courtney /et al, Jessica Barraclough as Sabrina/et al, Valerie Nagel as Christine/et al, Sydne Lyons as Mrs. Bateman/et al, and Cam Powell and Deema Turkomani as swings.
Scenic Design by Michael Windsor and Laura Valenti, Music Design by Marika Countouris, Choreography by Ahmad Maaty, Lighting Design by Helen Garcia-Alton, Costume Design by Elizabeth Morton, Projection Design by Julian Kelley, Fight and Intimacy Direction by Bess Kaye, Dance Captain Jessica Barraclough, Albeton programming by Tobi Osibodu.
Kennedy Center’s Funny Girl Has All the Razzamatazz of the Original
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Jordan Wright July 5, 2022
Katerina McCrimmon as Fanny Brice (Photo/Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)
If you hadn’t noticed before, revivals are having a moment. Merrily We Roll Along, Sondheim’s early 1981 musicalrecently garnered a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical, and although Cats had its final NY bow in 2017, shows like the latest B’way versions of Cabaret, Once Upon a Mattress and The Wiz are red hot.
Enter Funny Girl, in its latest iteration, now on tour and spending a few months at the Kennedy Center. Until I saw it again, I had no idea how much I’d missed it. The story of a Jewish Brooklyn girl’s rise to the pinnacle of the Broadway stage to star in Flo Ziegfeld’s biggest revue, is one that inspired many a singer/actress with Barbra Streisand’s star-making performance.
Katerina McCrimmon and Stephen Mark Lukas (Photo/Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)
I’m unapologetically predisposed to fiercely loving this story. My maternal grandmother was a Ziegfeld “girl”, as they were known. Betty Morton (née Elisabeth Mortensen and 100% Danish) wore the massive headdresses in awe-inspiring vignettes, modeled for the leading fashion magazines of the day and married a millionaire – as there were very few billionaires in that gilded era. Forget chocolates and rose bouquets, these highly sought-after beauties were courted by kings and scions of American fortunes who would send diamond bracelets and ermine coats backstage just to procure a dinner date where they could be seen with these beautiful young women. But I digress.
In true Broadway fashion, this production has a phenomenal cast of hoofers and belters – precisely the splash, dash and razzamatazz you’d expect from a show about Broadway and played by ace performers. Katerina McCrimmon plays Fanny Brice, a sassy, take-no-prisoners chorine who by dint of chutzpah and her pal, Eddie Ryan (Iziah Montaque Harris – with standby, DC local, John Manzari), a choreographer and top-drawer hoofer, quickly scratches her way to the top under at the New Amsterdam Theatre. There’s tons of schtick, a kickin’ 17-piece orchestra enhanced by the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, and all the familiar tunes by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill. God, help me, I knew all the words and so did much of the audience who properly refrained from singing aloud.
First National Touring Company of Funny Girl (Photo/Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)
First there’s the mavens, Mrs. Brice, Mrs. Strakosh (Eileen T’Kaye) and Mrs. Meeker (Christine Bunaun) – a group of well-meaning mothers who pass the time meddling in the affairs of the neighborhood, and especially laser-focused on Fanny’s future. You’ll never guess in a million years who plays the part of Mrs. Brice – Melissa Manchester. Yes! That Melissa Manchester – the R&B songstress, actress and Carole Bayer Sager co-composer, who sang the hit song “Midnight Blue” back in the 80’s and “Come in From the Rain” in the 70’s. I was gobsmacked! She’s still got the stuff in spades.
When romance comes to Fanny, it comes in the form of gambler, Nick Arnstein (Stephen Mark Lukas), a slick, handsome mountebank who charms her, marries her and enjoys her new-found wealth as the biggest star on Broadway.
Melissa Manchester and Izaiah Montaque Harris (Photo/Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)
So many of the numbers from this show are not only memorable but unforgettable – “I’m the Greatest Star”, “If a Girl Isn’t Pretty”, “His Love Makes Me Beautiful”, “Sadie, Sadie”, “Don’t Rain on My Parade” and the iconic “People” covered by, well, nearly every female singer in the world and made famous by, of course, Barbra.
So, if you’ve a mind to see fabulous costumes – feathered headdresses worn by sexy showgirls dripping with diamonds – the best hoofers and belters on stage today and a story that will melt the hardest heart – this one’s for you. God knows, it was for me!
Stephen Mark Lukas (Photo/Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)
Leah Platt as Emma/Mrs. Nadler, Ryan Rodino as John, David Foley, Jr. as Tom Keeney, Jackson Grove as Piano Player/Tenor/Actor/Porter, Jack Bianchi & Jackson Grove as Cornet Men, Jordon Taylor as Polly, Missy Marion as Bubbles, Dot Kelly as Maude, Walter Coppage as the iconic impresario, Florenz Ziegfeld, Kate E. Cook as Virginia, Alex Hartman as Vera, Sean Thompson as Bartender/Mr. Renaldi, Jack Bianchi & Travis Ward-Osborne as Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat Men.
Book by Isobel Lennart based on Directed by Michael Mayer, Tap Choreography by Ayodele Casel, Choreography by Ellenore Scott, Scenic Design by David Zinn, Costume Design by Susan Hilferty, Lighting Design by Kevin Adams, Sound Design by Brian Ronan & Cody Spencer, Orchestrations by Chris Walker, with Music Director/Conductor Elaine Davidson.
Highly recommended!!!
Through July 14th at the Kennedy Center, 2700 F Street, Washington, DC, 20566. For tickets and information call the box office at 202 416-8000 or visit www.Kennedy-Center.org.
Alexandra Bilder and the ensemble of Hamlet. (Photo Emily Lord)
Twenty-four-year-old Alexandria, VA native Sam Landa will bring his New York Circus Project to our area to perform an electrifying acrobatic Hamlet. Startingits DC run on July 31, he describes the interdisciplinary theater and circus company he founded in 2023 in this way. “Both circus and Shakespeare are perceived as aged forms. By matching the heightened sense of risk that circus delivers to a high-stakes narrative like Hamlet, the show exceeds the original intentions of each of the forms, delighting the audience in the process.” Landa, who will act as director for this groundbreaking show, continues his work as a consultant of acrobatic and aerial elements on Broadway productions.
Sam Landa (Photo Carrie Kizuka)
Apart from his parents’ lifelong support of his creative interests, Landa’s early influences in our region include his study with TheWashington School of Ballet’s legendary Artistic Director and Choreographer Septime Webre. “When I danced at The Washington School of Ballet as a child Septime Webre was a very big influence on me. He used classic novels and great works of literature and turned them into ballets, sourcing from traditional stories that you wouldn’t expect to see a ballet come out of. The idea of working with non-traditional stories influenced me to choose Hamlet because it’s a bold choice. I wanted to look back and say, it might be risky, but I pulled it off.”
Other influences stem from his early education in Alexandria schools where he attended George Mason Elementary, GW Middle School and Alexandria High School before going to The National Circus School [École Nationale de Cirque] in Montreal where he studied under Cirque du Soleil’s masters. He told me one of his biggest influences here was his elementary school PE teacher. “Julie Westcott was always very supportive of me, even at a young age and especially for a boy interested in non-traditional performance art.” Another strong influence was his dance teacher Luis Torres at the Washington School of Ballet and now the Ballet Master of the Hong Kong Ballet, “He taught me to work hard. Every chance I get to see him I feel invigorated afterwards.”
The aerialist is Angela Zhang (Photo Emily Lord)
Many of the company’s performances are free outdoor performances– offering local communities the opportunity to experience live theater coupled with aerial acrobatics. Two years in the making, Landa’s version of Hamlet was his senior project at Columbia University. When I asked him why Shakespeare and why Hamlet, he replied, “I wanted to pick something that would intrigue people when they heard there was a circus based on Hamlet. I wanted people to not know what they were walking into, and Hamlet is a notoriously complex play. I didn’t want something that had been done in circuses. In the case of Hamlet, everybody knows the story and I can focus on the themes that I want to.”
Landa has owned the company’s rigging system since he first began to perform in circus eight years ago. “One thing that is really important to me is trying to change circus as an art and entertainment form. I see ballet and opera performances with sweeping and emotional stories, where singing and dance tell the stories, and I want audiences to view circus in the same way. This show is grounded in a narrative with a beginning, middle and end.”
The aerialist is Julia Baccellieri. (Photo by Maya Shkolnik)
A number of the company’s performers are alums from Cirque du Soleil. Costumes are by Designer Lily Cunicelli who works in film and theater on- and off-Broadway as do many of the performers. Lighting Designer Nate Files has worked on American Idol, Dancing with the Stars and Blue Man Group as well as concerts for Miley Cyrus and Blackpink.
The contortionist is Ilse Baryshnikov. (Photo Howard Sherman)
Selecting Union Market Dock 5 to mount this production, Landa plans to build out the space to resemble a traditional theater setting. The Union Market District is entering a new phase in the development of entertainment arts, nightlife and theatrical shows and he is able configure the space to suit his needs. “I’m hoping this production with them is the start of a new relationship, because I would love to come back to the area.”
Hamlet poster designed by Sawyer Sadd, featuring Ilse Baryshnikov, Jacob Crow, and Madi Ward. (Courtesy photo)
Performances begin July 31 and run to August 11 at Union Market, Dock 5, 1309 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20002. For tickets and information visit NewYorkCircusProject.org/tickets or email [email protected]
